L/. exp. Biol. 161, 333-346 (1991) 333 'Printed in Great Britain © The Company of Biologists Limited 1991 VOLTAGE-ACTIVATED IONIC CURRENTS IN MYOEPITHELIAL CELLS ISOLATED FROM THE SEA ANEMONE CALLIACTIS TRICOLOR BY MOLLY A. HOLMAN AND PETER A. V. ANDERSON Whitney Laboratory and Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience, University of Florida, St Augustine, FL 32086, USA Accepted 6 June 1991 Summary Myoepithelial cells were isolated from the apical ends of mesenteries of the sea anemone Calliactis tricolor and examined using the whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique. The isolation procedure produced cell fragments that were contractile and produced action potentials when depolarized. These action potentials are formed by a complex array of ionic currents consisting of at least one, and possibly two, inward calcium currents and four outward potassium currents. The ionic selectivity of the calcium currents was Ca2+>Sr2+>Ba2+. Outward currents consisted of a calcium-dependent outward current and three voltage-activated currents, including a 4-aminopyridine-sensitive current, a tran- sient outward current and a steady-state current. Introduction Cnidarians are the simplest extant organisms to possess a nervous system and as such, have been the focus of much research directed at understanding the properties of the 'first' nervous systems (for reviews, see Satterlie and Spencer, 1987; Anderson and Schwab, 1982; Anderson, 1989; Anderson and Spencer, 1989). In recent years, following the development of preparations of giant or otherwise accessible neurones, the focus of much of this work has become increasingly cellular and has provided important information about the basic properties of these nervous systems. The only cnidarian class where cellular electrophysiology studies are lacking is the Anthozoa. This stems largely from the complexity of the tissue, the prohibitively small size and diffuse distribution of neurones in these organisms, and the fact that their tissues are frequently spontaneously contractile. These factors impose severe restrictions on the techniques that can be applied to these animals and, as a result, on the quality of information that can be obtained from them. Py words: sea anemone, Anthozoa, voltage-clamp, calcium currents, potassium currents, myoepithelial cells, Calliactis tricolor. 334 M. A. HOLMAN AND P. A. V. ANDERSON Here we report the results of voltage-clamp experiments with myoepithelial cells isolated from a sea anemone. The data indicate that these cells are electrically excitable, and produce fast, overshooting action potentials that are carried by one, possibly two, calcium (Ca2+) and four potassium (K+) currents. In many respects the properties of these currents are similar to equivalent currents in other organisms, but they also display some noteworthy features, such as an abnormal hierarchy of permeability with respect to the inward currents. Materials and methods Specimens of the anemone Calliactis tricolor (Le Sueur) were collected locally and maintained in running seawater aquaria, where they survived for many months on a mixed diet of marine organisms. Prior to dissection, animals were relaxed for about lh in a 1:1 mixture of sea 1 water and isotonic MgCl2 (0.34moll" ). The upper quarter of the animal was cut off and opened up with a single radial cut from the margin to the mouth. The resulting strip of tissue was then pinned out and the pharynx and oral disk removed, the latter by cutting the mesenteries at their points of insertion on the underside of the oral disk, and then cutting around the margin of the disk. This step revealed the apical end of the mesenteries. At their marginal edges, where they meet the tentacles, the incomplete mesenteries have an obvious red/purple coloration. Pieces of this pigmented tissue were then dissected free and transferred to sea water. The myoepithelial cells ultimately obtained from this tissue have the advantage of being from an area that contains no gonads and a minimum of ciliated cells, with the result that the suspensions of isolated cells were cleaner and essentially devoid of motile (ciliated) cells. The tissues were then digested in papain [Sigma type IV, at 3.75 mgml"1 in artificial sea water (ASW, see below), activated with O.Smgml"1 dithiothreitol (Sigma) at pH8.0] for 1 h, then transferred to fresh ASW and maintained at 10°C until needed. To isolate cells, pieces of enzymatically treated tissue were triturated through a fine glass pipette or a 22 gauge needle. The resulting cell suspension was then transferred to the lid of a 35 mm Falcon ware Petri dish, and cells were allowed to settle and adhere. In experiments involving media other than normal ASW, cells were triturated in the medium of choice. Whole-cell voltage-clamp experiments were carried out in the manner described previously (Anderson, 1987). Briefly, cells were voltage-clamped in the whole-cell configuration using a Dagan 8900 patch clamp amplifier. Pipettes were pulled from borosilicate glass and filled with one of the solutions given below. Seals were obtained by gently pushing the pipette against the cell surface, any offset currents having first been neutralized, and applying gentle suction. With these cells, seal formation was greatly facilitated by imposing a negative potential (up to -70 mV) on the pipette. Pipette capacitance was neutralized and additional suction applied to achieve the intracellular configuration. At this point, series resistance compenJ sation was added. Voltage protocols were applied and data acquisition ana Ionic currents in sea anemone muscle 335 manipulation carried out using an IBM AT computer equipped with pClamp software (Axon Instruments). Capacitative and leakage currents were subtracted on-line, using software routines. Solutions Artificial sea water (ASW) had the following composition (mmol I"1): NaCl 395; 2+ KC1 10; CaCl2 10; MgCl2 50; Hepes buffer 10; pH8.0. Barium- (Ba ) and strontium- (Sr2"1") containing ASWs were made by direct substitution of Ca2+. Na+-free ASW was prepared using Tris chloride or choline chloride, Ca2+-free ASW by substitution with Mg2"1". Patch pipettes were filled with either a normal 1 intracellular solution containing (mmolP ): KC1 140; CaCl2 1; EGTA 11; Hepes buffer 10, or a caesium/tetraethylammonium (Cs+/TEA+) solution consisting of 1 (mmoir ) CsCl 70; TEAC1 70; CaCl2 1; EGTA 11; Hepes buffer 10. The pH of both solutions was adjusted to 7.0 with KOH or CsOH. All experiments were carried out at room temperature (20-22 °C). In experiments involving changes in external medium, a suspension of cells was placed near the middle of a narrow, 1 cm long, plastic, U-shaped insert which was glued to the centre of the preparation dish. The volume of this insert was 200-250 jid. Prior to recordings in the first solution, the bulk of the medium outside the insert was removed, leaving just enough to achieve electrical continuity between the insert and the bath ground. Fluid was retained in the insert by the narrow neck at the open end. To change bathing solutions, lml of the new solution was added to the closed end of the insert via a fine, plastic pipette. Since the volume of solution added was 4-5 times that of the insert, the medium within the insert was changed 4-5 times, with the new solution inevitably flowing over the cells and out of the insert at the open end. Solution replacement typically took 15-30 s. If necessary, the first solution was then reapplied in the same manner. Results Appearance of cells Cells isolated from the pigmented region of the incomplete mesenteries of C. tricolor had two general morphologies. The majority of freshly isolated cells had the very elongate appearance one might expect of muscle cells, and were contractile. In addition to the elongate fragments, there were always many 20-30 fan roughly spherical cells, which were characterized by the presence of numerous red/purple pigment spots. No obvious differences were noted in the electrophysiology of either cell type. Basic electrophysiological properties Electrophysiological examination of cells bathed in ASW, using the high-K+, low-Ca2+ patch solution proved difficult because the cells invariably contracted after breakthrough, often to the extent that they detached from the pipette. Nevertheless, sufficient recordings were obtained to provide information on the basic electrical properties of these cells. 336 M. A. HOLMAN AND P. A. V. ANDERSON o -50 <u %. c E CS -—' -100 .n E -150 10 ms Fig. 1. Current-clamp recording from a myoepithelial cell from Calliactis tricolor. This cell was hyperpolarized to a membrane potential of —110 mV and responded to injection of depolarizing and hyperpolarizing current pulses in the manner shown. Isolated cells examined with patch electrodes filled with the normal intracellular solution had resting potentials between -60 and -90mV. When depolarized by current injection, these cells spiked repetitively, at frequencies of up to 50 Hz (Fig. 1). The action potentials themselves were relatively fast, overshooting events. Maximum rate of depolarization was 42.5 Vs and they repolarized at a rate of up to 16.6 Vs"1 with a time constant of 1.47ms. Total membrane currents A typical family of total membrane currents in these cells consisted of a small, relatively slow, transient inward current that activated at around — 20 mV and a large, complex outward current that activated at around —15 mV (Fig. 2). This same family of currents was seen in all cells examined, regardless of morphology. However, in early experiments, inward currents were either completely absent from all cells examined, or disappeared very rapidly after cell isolation, regardless of the treatment given to the cells. This was later traced to an effect of prolonged Mg2"1" anaesthesia and prompted us to keep this to a minimum. The cell dissociation protocol described in the Materials and methods section is that which evolved to minimize Mg2+ exposure.